15 worst trades in Mets history

5) NY Mets Worst Trades: Mike Scott to the Houston Astros

This is kind of a weird entry but an important one to mention. It’s weird because the man the Mets traded to the Houston Astros for Mike Scott, Danny Heep, would have a lot of success as a role-player in Queens. He would even help the team win the 1986 World Series.

With this in mind, maybe the trade wasn’t so bad for the orange and blue after all.

Not so fast. Long before the name Mike Scott became synonymous with regional managers, this guy became one of the great late-bloomer starters in baseball during the 1980s. His days with the Mets weren’t so great, but in Houston, he reinvented himself into a stud.

In 1986, Scott was the National League Cy Young winner. He led the league with a 2.22 ERA, 5 shutouts, 275.1 innings pitched, and 306 strikeouts! As luck would have it, Scott would clash with the Mets in the NLCS. He was absolutely dominant, winning both of his starts and going the distance both times. Scott allowed only a single run in his 18 innings of work. Luckily, he couldn’t pitch every day and the wild bunch from Flushing was able to advance and become victorious in the World Series.

Scott was more than a one-season wonder. During his time in Houston, he went 110-81 with a 3.30 ERA with three seasons of finishing in the top ten of the Cy Young vote—including his 1986 campaign when he won it.